A stunning image of runaway star HD 77581, creating a bow shock as it travels through interstellar space at over 50 miles per second. The bright star at the center is saturated, showing diffraction spikes. A faint, arcing bow wave of compressed gas is visible, a result of the star's rapid movement. The image hints at the star's origin, linked to a supernova explosion and its companion X-ray pulsar, Vela X-1.

Astronomy Picture from 03/12/1997

Runaway Star

Source: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap971203.html


#RunawayStar #HD77581 #BowShock #InterstellarMedium #SupernovaRemnant #VelaConstellation #Astronomy #Astrophysics #Space #Cosmos #Stars #Pulsar #VelaX1

Image of runaway star HD 77581, a bright star creating a bow shock wave as it travels through interstellar space. The star is over-exposed creating a spiky cross shape in the center of the image. A faint arc of compressed gas is visible behind it. This is likely due to the supernova explosion of its companion star, Vela X-1, a pulsar.

Astronomy Picture from 27/11/1999

Runaway Star

Source: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap991127.html


#RunawayStar #HD77581 #BowShock #InterstellarMedium #SupernovaRemnant #VelaConstellation #Astronomy #Astrophysics #Space #Cosmology #Stars #Pulsar #VelaX1